Susan B Anthony

The Right of All Citizens: What Makes an Effective Argument for Women's Rights? On November 5, 1872, Susan B. Anthony, a well-known leader in the women’s rights movement, along with several other women, entered the West End News Depot and cast their ballot. The women had all registered in the previous days; Anthony had registered to vote November 1, 1872 at a local barbershop, along with her three sisters. Even though the inspectors refused her initial demand to register, Anthony used her power of persuasive speaking and her relationship with well-respected persons of authority, such as Judge Henry R. Selden, to obtain her registration, informing the inspectors that if they did not register the women, they would press charges through the criminal court and sue for damages. When she was arrested for her illegal actions two weeks later, she went willingly with the officer, demanding that they treated her equal to male criminals (Linder, “Trial”). Before and after her illegal vote, Susan B. Anthony used her eloquence and strength as a speaker to deliver various thought-provoking speeches on why women legally have the right to vote and her 1873 speech, “On Women’s Right to Vote,” is no exception. The tone and structure of Susan B. Anthony’s speech established an effective basis for her other supports. She used clear and concise language to convey her meanings. She maintained good grammar and syntax throughout her speech and delivered the speech in a forthright and organized manner. This was an important factor in her speech, because she was working to prove that women were the equal of men and deserved the same rights. This organization and concise tone allowed her audience to easily understand the meaning of her argument and also added to her integrity as a speaker.
Susan B. Anthony’s speech built upon support from ethos, an approach that relies on an appeal to ethics and credibility (Phillips 251). Anthony used ethos in multiple ways.